Social Question

Could I please request prayer and good thoughts for my injured little girl?

She was up on her daddy’s shoulders and her big sister made a move to tickle her. My little one reacted, lost her balance, and fell all the way to the kitchen floor. I won’t give all the long hospital details, but the head CT showed a large skull fracture and some bleeding on the brain. The neurologist said that after looking at the fracture, surgery wasn’t needed and as long as she was able to drink fluids on her own that she could go home.

She’s home now and has to be really still and quiet for quite some time and is miserable because she’ll be out of gymnastics for a few months. But she’s eating and drinking and happily cuddling her new teddy bear.

She needs prayers and good thoughts from as many people as possible, for a speedy recovery and for her to be able to stay still and quiet, since that’s pretty hard for a 4 year old. Thanks guys.

She had a good day today, and was eating and drinking a little more, which is a big relief to the whole family. She’s still taking quite a bit of tylenol and occasionally grabs her heads and moans a little. She’s going to be sore for quite some time to come, but we’re thinking of little ways to get her out of the house for a bit so she doesn’t go stir crazy.

We’re very scared about the fracture, because naturally, if she should accidentally over-exert herself or even just trip on a toy and fall, it could very very bad. She is currently enjoying a nice warm bath and will be sleeping our bed again tonight.

I would also ask for prayers and good thoughts about the other half of the situation. Apparently, if a child is admitted to the hospital with a skull fracture, it’s hospital policy to notify CPS. We already talked to them at the hospital and the lady seemed satisfied with the description of the accident. I’m sure they will be dropping by at some point, to do a random home check and I know they tend to be over critical.. My oldest is also extremely worried that she’s going to be in some sort of trouble, because she blames herself for the accident. We’ve told her many times that she couldn’t have known what would happen and it was just a freak accident, but she keeps thinking it’s all her fault and after hearing an explanation about CPS and knowing some kids in the neighborhood who had been taken away from their parents, she is absolutely terrified.

We tell her all she has to do is tell the truth about the accident, and everything will be fine, but in her mind, she’s at fault and she can’t seem to shake her fear. Our family needs prayer that if CPS is going to show up, they’ll do it in the next few days so that my oldest daughter can talk to them and “get it over with” so she won’t worry herself into a frenzy. I’m hurting for my youngest, because she has to be so overly careful now, for months, and she is in obvious pain. I’m worried for my oldest because she blames herself and has been really traumatized.

Thanks to everyone for all the kind comments and the assurance of prayer. I have recieved offers of lighting candles from Wiccans, and offers of prayers to Allah from Muslims. I must say that when it comes to my babies, I don’t care who is doing what sort of praying, so long as they are. At this time we need all we can get.

@WillWorkForChocolate While the hospital policy is to inform CPS of the injury, it is not an automatic that CPS will accept the case. They may choose to accept the information given by the hospital and decide based on that alone that there is not enough evidence to investigate further. To put your mind (and big sister’s mind) at ease, perhaps you could contact social work at the hospital or call CPS directly to see if the case was accepted and will be investigated.

Of course since everyone’s recollection of what happened will be the same and your family will have responded in an appropriate manner, it is unlikely that your family aroused any suspicion on the part of the hospital. I think it’s unlikely (at least where I live it would be unlikely) that CPS will show up at your house. I hope they don’t. Even if they do… it will all be fine (which you and I know but is hard for a guilty feeling child to understand).

Again, I’m so sorry your family is going through this. Hang in there. Someday this will be a distant memory for all of you.

When my youngest was 2 he managed to push a kitchen chair across the kitchen and crawl up onto our stove. I was upstairs folding laundry. I heard a shriek of pain, the kind of shriek where you know your kids are seriously hurt. I ran downstairs and there he was on the floor with his hand burned badly by concentric circles. He had managed to accidentally switch on the element while he was routing around in a cupboard looking for candy. As he was getting back down he put his hand on the now red hot element.

He had second and third degree burns. While we were in the hospital we were questioned by hospital staff and then again by someone from their child abuse department. I could completely see how they would be worried about this kind of injury. But after those initial conversations we never heard from them.

Don’t worry too much about talking to them if they do indeed show up. Their job is to get to the bottom of what went on.

When my daughter was 13 she was hit by a car. (She’s fine, now, yay) and when she was in PICU a Child Services person showed up and talked to her when I was out of the room for a few minutes. I appreciate that that she was doing her job, I did not appreciate that she talked to my daughter and scared the hell out of her at that time. It was cleared up quickly, there were no consequences, they really don’t want to damage the family in any way. I was just horrified that she had talked to my minor child without my knowledge and told her that they might have to take her away from me if things didn’t check out.
That story notwithstanding, like I said, they just have to check, but they know that a good home environment is the best place for your injured child. Things should be fine. Give your little muffins (both!) an extra hug from me.

OK, I’m posting this here instead of making it a question because apparently the mods are as bitchy as I am today.

UPDATE- The bleeds have stopped and any residual blood has cleared, unfortunately there has been no change with the fracture yet. We have been advised to watch for the rare occurence of the bones widening instead of closing, and the dura seeping through to the outside, forming a spongy cyst. She’s scheduled for X-rays in 8 weeks.

So… this means keeping her on light activity still, and definitely no gymnastics for another two months, minimum. She’s so sad, poor thing.

Oh yeah, and one of the ER docs (the night we took her in) lied to me about how large the fracture is. It goes halfway up her head, instead of all the way to her top sutures like he said. He was mad that I didn’t tear my ass to get her to the hospital sooner. So he was a complete dick to me in our room and then he flat out lied about the size of the fracture. Probably just to make me feel worse. Bastard.

Relieved about the bleeds, what good news! Hope the rest works out, the waitin is the worst. I’ll get together a posse and we’ll go deal with that dickhead ER doctor. Bet he doesn’t have kids. (Or friends, for that matter!)
Give your little muffin a (gentle) hug from me.

UPDATE- My wee one just had another appointment today for x-rays. The neurologist said you can barely tell that she had a fracture; she’s healed up very nicely. We also got the “okay” for her to resume all normal activity, including gymnastics! Hooray!

You posted this three months ago. By now I assume your little girl is fine and CPS never showed up. Not to add to your worries, but you might check to see whether your state has a central child abuse registry. In some states, the name of every ACCUSED person automatically goes on this list, and stays on it for years, even if no abuse is proven. Then, if another accident occurs to involve CPS, they can and will re-open your daughter’s earlier injury report and use it to prove you’re an unfit parent. I strongly suggest that you have a family law attorney check whether your state maintains such a list and whether you’re on it. If you are, then your attorney can tell you how to get your names expunged. (Please don’t ask CPS or the hospital for information on this. You’re much better off, staying off CPS’s radar. If you haven’t heard anything from them about your daughter’s injury, don’t go stirring up a hornet’s nest. You need a lawyer, not a social worker.)

@RandomSurfer Actually, CPS did show up; I posted about their visit in another thread. The lady asked my oldest daughter some ridiculous questions that had nothing to do with the accident in question, which really irritated me. But she cleared us of being at fault for the accident and the case has been closed. We haven’t heard from them since.

I do care! @WillWorkForChocolate is one of my best internet friends! When we were on Wisdm she sent me a teddy bear for Valentine’s day. I took that bear all over town and took pictures, then mailed him to another wisdm friend in South Africa who…took some pictures..but I don’t know where he is now. :(

The lady that came over was asking my daughter if we “touch” her or make her “touch” us, and other kinds of bullshit. She tickled her little sister at a bad time, her little sister got hurt, and she was worried she was in trouble… we were being “investigated” for negligence, not for molesting our kids! There was no need for her to ask that.